Category: Home & Interiors Page 2 of 6

There’s no place like home! Here, we’ll teach you how to make your abode more cozy and welcoming.

7 Things You Should Organize this Summer

7 Things You Should Organize this Summer

The first principle of organizing is not deciding how to store your belongings—it’s deciding whether or not you need all your belongings to start with. First, decide if you really like it or need it, and then part with it if necessary. Once the stuff you don’t need is gone, organize what’s left. Your summer will be a lot easier if you have less to put away.

Tackle Piles of Paper

Create four piles: Recycle, Shred, File, and Urgent.Sort through any stacks you’ve accumulated around the house, and arrange or store as needed. Place important bills in an undeniable spot, with the goal that you won’t disregard them.

Smooth out Your Digital Storage

Taking 30 minutes to clean up your home PC will streamline your everyday more than you’d might suspect, and the association procedure is straightforward: Either document or erase. You likely have various arbitrary things spared to your work area (screen captures, old transportation names, tickets) that can be destroyed, and when you minister envelopes in clear manners (Kids, Home, Work), you’ll generally realize where to search for significant records.

Fix Your Fridge and Freezer

In case you don’t know what’s hiding at the rear of your cooler (like lapsed fixing bottles and questionable bundles of soy sauce), it’s an ideal opportunity to address your ice chest and cooler compartments. Initially, toss out the undeniable stuff (whatever’s lapsed or mildew covered) and consider throwing half-utilized containers of food that are in fact still great, yet that you have no plans of cooking with once more. In your cooler, junk any cooler consumed food or things put away for a stormy day—in the event that you haven’t had any desire to eat it by this point, it’s simply occupying significant room.

Sort out Your Closet

Seriously investigate your storage room. A decent storage room cleanse is one that numerous property holders maintain a strategic distance from, yet the system is shockingly straightforward: If you haven’t worn it in a year—since it doesn’t fit, shows extreme mileage, or you simply don’t care for it that a lot to begin with—you have to either toss it out or part with it. Tackle dress first, trailed by shoes and embellishments. Try not to haul everything out of your storeroom and dump it on your bed to sort; that progression can make the venture overpowering, and may make you surrender too early. Simply haul things out that you realize you don’t need; you’ll be amazed at how rapidly your storage room increases some breathing room.

Give Away Items Your Kids Have Outgrown

Children’s spaces frequently contain a huge number of modest knickknacks (hi, cheap food toys)— things that children play with for a couple of moments and dispose of. As opposed to handling the entire room, plan a speedy, easy decision clean up: Get a cardboard gift box prepared, go into your youngster’s room or den, and pull out five to 10 things that you realize they don’t play with or don’t care for. You can even make it a game with more established children, requesting that they assist you with picking the things to offer away to youngster out of luck. In the blink of an eye by any stretch of the imagination, your children’s space will unexpectedly appear to be somewhat more smoothed out.

Check Under Your Sinks

Set a clock for 15 minutes, and give that chance to your under-sink zones. There might be various things sneaking there—void bathroom tissue moves, old cosmetics, cleaning bottles with a quarter-inch of arrangement left in them—that you can throw without another idea, in a split second opening up a huge amount of space.

Don’t Forget About Your Outdoor Space

Stroll around the outside of your home and check whether you can spot whatever simply shouldn’t be there—like a messed up hose, a feeble (and unusable) stepping stool, or a heap of plastic plant compartments. Pack littler things, and convey the rest directly to the check. You don’t have settle on important choices about bigger things, similar to old barbecues or rusting porch furniture—this isn’t the chance to totally re-try your yard—yet your yard will in a flash vibe cleaner without each one of those littler bits of garbage jumbling your line of vision.

Marianne is Nixplay’s Web Content Editor. Her hobbies include exploring new places, playing table tennis, and cuddling puppies. Send her a message at marianne.salazar@nixplay.com.

5 Ways To Spruce Up Your Work From Home Station

5 Ways To Spruce Up Your Work From Home Station

For a lot of people, working from home isn’t all that it was cooked up to be. We’ve spent a lot of time defining the lines between “work mode” and “home mode”, and our private spaces are meant for refuge and relaxation. With the lines blurred, it’s understandably a bit difficult to get pumped up to work when your bed is only a few steps away.

Taking the time to create an efficient home office setup is crucial to staying productive. To get you more excited to work remotely, we’ve outlined below a few ways to upgrade your home office. Read on!

Designate a workspace

First things first: having a comfortable, well-organized place to work is essential. A desk designated for working alone will help you avoid the distractions that other mixed-use areas might bring. If you have the budget, get a standing desk–this lets you stretch out, helping prevent the dreaded backaches caused by sitting all day.

Invest in an ergonomic chair

If you have a desk, you’ll need a chair as well. A chair that’s designed to support your back will help minimize pain and let you concentrate fully on the task at hand. While it’s pricier than ordinary office chairs, it’s an investment that you’ll be glad for in the long run.

Keep some plants

It seems like everyone’s turning their homes into pocket jungles these days. This is a fad that you should get behind: plants filter the air, add color to your space, and help you refocus your energy. If it’s your first foray into kingdom Plantae, a low-maintenance plant, such as a succulent or a snake plant, should be easy enough to maintain.

Add personal mementos

Personal mementos add a touch of charm and whimsy to your workplace. Add a vinyl toy of your favorite cartoon character, a small souvenir from your last vacation, or a digital frame filled with photos of your family and friends. These serve as physical reminders of the things that drive you to work hard and will help you keep your eyes on the prize.

nixplay secret sale

Speaking of personal mementos, the Nixplay Frame certainly fits the bill! We’ve got a Secret Sale going on until July 19–enjoy up to 25% off selected frames, only until supplies last!

Install a whiteboard or a corkboard

When it comes to mapping out ideas, nothing beats the connection between good old pen and paper. Incorporating a whiteboard or a corkboard can stimulate creativity by giving you more real estate to brainstorm and put up outlines, goals, to-do lists, doodles, and diagrams. It also injects a touch of playfulness to your workspace while letting you make better visual connections between ideas.

Photo by Roberto Nickson on Unsplash

Marianne is Nixplay’s Web Content Editor. Her hobbies include exploring new places, playing table tennis, and cuddling puppies. Send her a message at marianne.salazar@nixplay.com.

summer activities for kids and families

5 Fun Family Activities You Can Do This Summer

Summer is in full swing! It’s the season of afternoons by the pool, lazy days spent reading a fun book, and, if you have kids, a couple of weeks spent running around bored, restless tots.

Here’s the thing: spending the summer with your kids need not be a stressful ordeal. Here are some fun activities you can do with the little ones, all guaranteed to keep boredom at bay.

1. Bake some cookies

It’s never too early to get your kids to be at home in the kitchen. Get them excited by making something the whole family will enjoy munching on, like chocolate chip cookies. Try a few recipes to discover your family’s favorite version, and encourage the little ones to experiment in the kitchen by identifying the differences among the recipes and the finished products.

2. Grow a garden

Get your hands dirty! Set aside a patch in your yard to plant herbs and tomatoes, or plant a citrus sapling to grow along with your kids. Teach the tots responsibility by giving them different assignments, such as watering and weeding,  to keep the garden in top shape.

3. Have a photo shoot

Preserve your family’s summer memories with a photoshoot! The sunny weather and the enforced social distancing measures should make it easier to find a beautiful secluded spot where you and your family can take pictures. Strike a mix of candid moments and posed shots so you’ll have options to choose from.

Don’t forget to display the pictures on your Nixplay Frame! We’re having an exclusive Summer Sale on our UK and Germany sites, where you can enjoy up to 30% off selected frames. Shop now!

4. Get crafty

No classes mean more time to experiment with art projects! You can hone their creativity by making handprint paintings, creating collages from old magazines, and tie-dyeing old shirts. Older kids, meanwhile, can try writing and illustrating their own comics strips–It’s a great way to improve their storytelling and communication skills.

5. Have a backyard picnic

Take advantage of the beautiful weather and set up a picnic in your yard. Prepare picnic staples like sandwiches, chips, sliced fruit, and other finger food, and place them in a cooler for easy transport to your yard. You can eat on a patio table, or you can spread out a blanket on the grass for a proper picnic. Make the most of your picnic by leaving your gadgets inside the house for an unplugged afternoon.

Photo by Liana Mikah on Unsplash

Marianne is Nixplay’s Web Content Editor. Her hobbies include exploring new places, playing table tennis, and cuddling puppies. Send her a message at marianne.salazar@nixplay.com.

6 Simple Ways To Make Your Home Feel Cozier

6 Simple Ways To Make Your Home Feel Cozier

Since we’re spending more time at home these days, it makes sense to make your abode as inviting to live in as possible. The good news is that you don’t necessarily need an expensive renovation job to achieve this goal. With these simple steps, you can transform your interiors into your own definition of a relaxing home without spending too much.

1. Clean up your clutter

Being in a disorganized environment can be stressful. If you’re on a quest to make your home a more relaxing place to be in, tidying up should be on top of your to-do list. Set aside a couple of days to tackle bursting cupboards, messy shelves, and tables piled high with all sorts of things. Be ruthless when decluttering, and dispose of items that don’t make you happy or are just not practical. Finally, make sure to organize your belongings, and invest in extra storage if necessary. While decluttering can be tedious and time-consuming, you’ll find that it can do wonders in making your place feel more liveable.

2. Soften the room with textiles

Drape a blanket on your couch, replace heavy curtains with sheer ones to let the sunlight in, and add pillows to your sofa to invite people to curl up and snuggle. A plush rug and a pouf ottoman can also get people to put up their feet and relax. These small, simple touches go a long way in making a home feel more comfortable. 

3. Display your favorite photos and mementos

Meaningful souvenirs, trinkets, and home decor can give your abode personality. These items are special to you, so it only makes sense to give them a place of honor in your home. This philosophy should extend to your photos: Why would you take dozens of photos during a vacation or a special event, only to keep them filed away in your computer forever? By displaying your photos on a Nixplay Smart Photo Frame, you’ll always be reminded of your favorite moments with the people that mean most to you.

4. Use smart appliances

What’s better than a home decked with the latest gadgets and gizmos? A home decked with gadgets that you can control with your voice or with your phone, that’s what. Invest in a Google Home or an Amazon Echo device, which you can use to control your other appliances. These smart home assistants work with Nixplay Frames, and you can just ask Google Home Assistant or Amazon Alexa to turn on your frame and play your favorite photo playlist if you’re in need of a pick-me-up.

5. Opt for warm lighting

You’d be surprised by how much impact lighting can have on a room’s atmosphere. Use natural light as much as possible–Avoid harsh, fluorescent lights, and look for energy-efficient bulbs that can impart a soft, warm glow to your space. You can also light some candles to give a room a relaxing ambiance.

6. Decorate with greenery

Plants can breathe life into an otherwise dreary space–and we mean this quite literally, as they give off oxygen and help purify the air in your home. The crucial thing is choosing the right plants for your home and lifestyle. Beginner plant moms and dads can opt for plants that are easy to care for, such as succulents or snake plants. If you love to cook, you can try tending to some potted herbs by your kitchen window. A potted palm or a fiddle leaf fig, meanwhile, can brighten up more spacious rooms.

Marianne is Nixplay’s Web Content Editor. Her hobbies include exploring new places, playing table tennis, and cuddling puppies. Send her a message at marianne.salazar@nixplay.com.

How To Organize Your Life In 2020

How To Organize Your Life In 2020

A new year, a new decade, a new chance to revamp your home–and while you’re at it, your life. Start 2020 right by setting aside some time to assess what you need and don’t need moving forward. Start with these tips.

1. Assess your belongings.

Start in your room and take stock of your wardrobe, dresser, and desk. Assess each one of your belongings: to borrow Marie Kondo’s terminology, if it doesn’t spark joy in your soul (or if you have no use for the item anymore), it’s time to bin it. Clothes you haven’t worn since 8 kilos ago? Sell or donate them. Gadgets from the early ’00s? Throw them away if they don’t serve their purpose anymore. Grooming products that are way past their expiration date? Toss, ASAP.

From there, proceed to the other rooms in your home and declutter each of them. Take out everything in your cupboards, drawers, and closets, sort out everything into “need” and “don’t need” piles, and dispose of the things in the latter pile. You don’t have to do this in one go–you can do your bedroom one weekend, the kitchen next, and so on, whenever your mood and schedule permits.

2. Straighten out your priorities for the year.

Once your desk is straightened out, sit down and write your goals for the year. The beginning of a new year always makes people excited to do so many things, but let’s face it–with all your other responsibilities, it’ll be difficult to accomplish everything you want to do. So if you want to actually finish something this year, we suggest trimming down your to-do list into a set of S.M.A.R.T. goals: specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-based objectives per quarter. This should align your priorities for the year, helping you stay focused and be more productive.

3. Track Your Spending.

Did you go above your budget in 2019? Don’t worry, we’re here to help you avoid making the same mistake in 2020. An easy way to go about it is to download a spending tracker onto your phone. Every time you spend on something, make sure to jot it down on the app. You have to practice accountability, and you should note everything–especially purchases you feel guilty about. At the end of the month, review your spending and streamline where you can. This is a good habit to start 

4. Create Good Habits.

It’s never too late to start a good habit! Whether it’s to stop being late, shop less, or work out more, you can always turn over a new leaf. Create a tracker on excel to note what you’ve done (or have not done), or, similar to what we told you in the previous number, download an app to help you monitor your habits. It’ll also help you reduce mental clutter.

5. Scan and Save Your Photos.

You probably have a handful of photo albums at home, gathering dust in a cupboard somewhere. This defeats the purpose of having photos–they’re meant to be displayed and revisited. So this year, go through all your printed photos and scan each one of them. It might take a bit of time, but it’s totally worth it. Save it on a hard drive, or better yet, on the cloud, where you can retrieve your photos whenever, wherever.  Don’t forget to display your pictures on a Nixplay Frame so you’ll be reminded of your favorite memories all the time!

Marianne is Nixplay’s Web Content Editor. Her hobbies include exploring new places, playing table tennis, and cuddling puppies. Send her a message at marianne.salazar@nixplay.com.

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